Live
by Bitway
Summary: A noble prince and his loyal knight, in a night that doesn't go as planned. {royalty au, oneshot, drabble, sort of kyoutaku}


The night had been quiet, peaceful. From his current lodgings, this temporary room, he could cast his gaze out to see the world he was familiar with. It was all behind him, being left in order to travel to the neighboring kingdom. The journey, so far, had been rather pleasant despite the gossip.

The young prince had been worried with news of war being whispered throughout the palace, his kingdom. If this meeting didn't go well, if even one word eluded at some type of aggression, it would escalate into chaos. It seemed everyone was looking for a reason to start an unnecessary fight, to make two powers cross.

The burden was placed upon his shoulders, and he took it. His father was busy with the troops and meetings, his mother had fallen ill and was still recovering. It left him in charge of negotiations and the weight of this all continued to grow the longer this journey took. More and more seemed to be at stake the longer he thought about, well, everything.

Shindou takes in a breath, holds it, closes his eyes and counts to ten before releasing his breath. Thinking while wrought with worries never ran well. He needed to keep a calm and cool composure.

Thinking of the melodies he played back home helped. Normally, thoughts of fingers gliding over ivory keys soothed him. Now it made him itch to play or even hear something similar. Music helped him relax. It was a shame that this inn lacked any instruments, aside from those of nature.

His meditation is interrupted with a knock to his door. Eyes glance to it, waiting for a response, an introdcution. Annoyed that he doesn't receive one, he sighs and speaks, "Enter."

The doors are pushed aside, revealing one of his knights, one that's been designated as commander for this escort. He stands tall, expression unwavering with that hard gaze.

"I should have known it was you, Kyousuke."

"Hmph." It's his only response as the door closes behind him, making his way over to the prince. He doesn't bow to him, keeping his head high. They weren't in front of an audience and each knew their place. Besides, he knew refusing to do so would irk him even if he made no comment of it.

"What did you come here for?"

"Do you really need to ask that?"

The knight receives a short glare before the prince's gaze turns elsewhere, to the window and out to the castle in the distance. The sight makes him long for home, yet being around a familiar face, a familiar presence is comforting. Even if he isn't the kindest of spirits.

"No."

The room falls quiet. Tsurugi looks to the prince. Part of him wants to reassure Shindou that this trip will be short, they'd return back home soon enough. They're hopeful words, too hopeful.

"They're keeping watch. No trouble to report."

"Ah, that's good."

It was good news. Dull, but good. It's what he wants to hear. It's quiet again and Shindou wishes to break the silence. He'd normally ask about Tsurugi's training, how he's managing amongst the other knights. But, that's a distraction, isn't it? He isn't at home, he's out here and has to be prepared for anything. He has to remember what he has to do, what he needs to say.

"You'll do fine."

"Huh?"

The sudden words cause for the prince's head to turn, looking to the knight who's eyes are looking out, back at the castle.

"You worry too much. If you keep focusing on one thing, you won't be able to see anything else."

It sounds like a comment he would receive from one of his tutors. Some wise word of advice. Before he could respond, the sound of glass shattering is heard. It startles them both, the prince immediately on edge while the knight's hand is already at the sheath of his sword. Tsurugi makes no attempts to comfort him with words, his duty came first. There's a quick glance, eyes meet.

 _'I'm going to go and investigate.' 'Okay.'_

Shindou silently wishes him luck, wishes that winds or someone's clumsiness were the cause of such a noise. But it had sounded loud, it was nothing like a plate. It had been a window, he knew.

Hearing another one shatter followed along with footsteps and screams shortly after had alerted him to this being the worst of his worries. An attack, an ambush. Whether it was from the neighboring kingdom or some other force, he couldn't tell. But he was aware of one thing: he was in danger and so were his people. His knights.

The prince was quick to his feet, ready to rush to the door. There was something he had to do, something he could do to help. He could stop this fighting, speak with those here.

He was stopped short by the door opening to reveal Tsurugi, returned with armor painted in splashes of red. Not any of his own, he hoped.

"Kyousuke-!"

"Go." The knight commands, stepping forward and grabbing Shindou by the arm. If he were to take one step outside of this room, he'd get a glimpse into hell. That was something he could not allow.

"Go? I can't go!" Shindou shouts, attempting to pull out of his grasp. Somehow, he's able to. Although it gains him a nasty look from the other. "You expect me to leave you and everyone else behind?"

"Don't be stupid. You know who they're after."

 _'You.' 'Me.'_

"And I know that you all stay and fight for me. I can't go."

He could do something. He had some swordsmanship under his royal belt. It wasn't the best, but he could defend himself...for a short period of time.

The knight scoffs at his response. Time was ticking and he didn't have time to argue with his prince. If they reached this room, got to him, it'd all be over. "Think. If you were to perish now, what would happen? To your kingdom? To the rest of us? We need you to live."

His mouth opens for a response but quickly shuts. If he stays, he wagers his life. Wagers more than just his own. But he couldn't stand by and live while others died for him. It was something he knew would happen, had happened every now and then. But he was always stuck in the castle, never out here experiencing it as it went on. Perhaps he was foolish and wanted things to have gone smoothly, to sacrifice no lives.

A dying scream causes him to shudder and he knew that lingering would do nothing for his people. If he died now, chaos would break. If he lived, it could be prolonged and, hopefully, avoided. His life was worth so much, too much. It was one of the heaviest burdens to carry, knowing that he had to live atop of corpses.

He had to listen to his damn knight.

"You're not allowed to..." The word wouldn't come out of his mouth. He couldn't think it, couldn't imagine it. "I order you to take care of this and return to me." His voice is shaky but retains confidence, strength. "You need a lecture on not forcefully grabbing your prince." It's an attempt at a lighthearted comment. He hated this heavy atmosphere.

It makes the knight grin, even for a short second. "Lecture me back home." His back turns to the prince, ready to return to the hell outside. "Go."

There's nothing more to say. Everything he wants to say is too long, too much. With a silent nod he takes this chance to run.

* * *

a/n: based on a prompt from the-modern-typewriter on tumblr.


End file.
